Trip report, was Re: [at-l] Unmarked magic and bear cables

[buchanan@shentel.net (Susan Buchanan)]

----- Original Message -----
From: <DTimm65344@aol.com>
>
> This is, however, nearly as incomplete a trip report as Amy attempted to
pass
> off a couple of weeks ago.  So, once again, in my previous crass style,
cough
> it up, please <VBG>.

Well, since you insist <g>.  Once I get going, I'm a bit longwinded though.
But any excuse to not be packing boxes right now.

Barb and I (hi Barb!  she lurks on this list - is shy about speaking in
public) drove down from Virginia to Georgia on Friday.  As the miles went
by, I definitely began to feel like I was 'getting away'.  Or maybe that's
getting away with something.  Who knows?  It was nice, whatever it was.  We
headed to Clayton, Georgia, to the home of a friend.  This is a fairly new
friend - we met Peter and his brother last October at the Denton Shelter
near Front Royal.  They were doing their twice a year, week long section
hike, and we were out for an overnight quick trip.  I've since shuttled them
for their next hike up here, and now Peter was playing payback.  Ah - - it
was nice to have a place to crash at, and be fed well, the night before
hitting the trail.  Can you say Laphroaig in our glasses, and tootsie rolls
on our pillows?  He spoiled us rotten.  Supposed to be views of Standing
Indian from his deck, but it was rainy and the clouds were rolling around.
David Addleton arrived in time for a late dinner with us (he was hiking with
us that weekend).  Then in the morning Peter continued to spoil us by
cooking us a great breakfast of French Toast (made with a choc chip and
cherry bread) and sausage.  Yum.

After a long shuttle (took David's car to Hightower first) we headed up to
Springer via the MacKaye Trail where it crosses 42.  Had planned to get on
at Nimblewill Gap, but the day was getting much later than we had planned,
and Peter needed to get some work done, so . . . we cut the approach a
little shorter.  We arrived at Springer a little after 12:30 in the mist and
the rain.  Someone had not sealed up the register very well, and it was
soaking wet and almost impossible to write in.  Left me almost in tears as I
struggled to write about Denise DeLisle, "Journey", who was to have begun
her thru hike that day (Sat, Ap 13).  I had assumed I would be meeting
Denise as I began my section hike, but she died suddenly and unexpectedly on
March 27.  So I wrote in her memory, and said a prayer for her there.

We did lunch at Springer Shelter, where we met Gizmo and heard about the
bears taking food off the bear cables.

It rained all day.  Or maybe a better description would be that it spritzed
all day.  We walked in the clouds and the mist, without any view beyond the
trees immediately surrounding us.  In some ways we could have been walking
anywhere (the same experience I had with three days of rain in the
backcountry of Denali NP a few years ago) but it also meant that you pay
closer attention to the little details of the world which surrounds you.  I
was carrying a brand new camera - a Canon EOS Rebel.  I made a little
carrying sack for it out of a small fanny pack that I lined with a piece of
a remnant of an old blue pad (they never die - they just keep getting
reincarnated as pot cozies, etc).  I hadn't used the camera before - I
bought it because I have loved my old Canon AT-1 which is 20 years old and
weighs a ton.  This new SLR is quite lightweight (no- it's not an Elph, but
it does give me more options in picture taking).  And my gerryrigged
fannypack set up meant it was always available (until it poured on us and I
strapped it to the pack under the rain cover).  Anyway - I took lots of
pictures in the rain that first day - pictures of the flowers dripping with
water, of the dark wet trunks of trees in the mist, of the wonders which
surrounded us on all sides.

Of course, all the water meant that the trail was pretty muddy and slick.
And there was that tree root, which I'm sure must be a cousin of Treebeard,
that reached out and simply grabbed my ankles at one point.  Planted me face
first into a nice mud hole.  Lovely.  Skinned my knee up a bit, but other
than that, I was no worse for the wear.  All in all, it was a glorious day
for hiking.  I love *weather*.  And to be so engulfed in it all day was
incredible.  I'm not sure that Barb and David enjoyed the weather as much as
I did, but I believe it was a good day for all.

We camped at the site just at the start of the blue blaze trail to Long
Creek Falls, and had it all to ourselves.  Got there and set up the hammocks
(Barb and I both in Hennessys, and David in his Marina).  Got the bear bag
line set for later, and then headed down to the falls.  We cooked dinner
down where we had a beautiful view of the cascade.  David had brought lamb
curry for our first night treat, and while he was cooking and Barb was
soaking her feet, I decided to get a little more "into" the surroundings and
went skinny dipping.  Actually, I slipped first and fell in while trying to
get my shorts off, so I ended up rinsing out my hiking clothes as well (not
to worry - no soap! and David assured me he wasn't watching).  It was cold
and refreshing and wonderful.

After a wonderful dinner (lamb curry, basmati rice, hot tea) which Barb had
to eat with a knife because she forgot her spoon, we headed back up the
trail to our campsite.  First night using my Hennessy!  Talk about something
that had to have been funnier to watch than to experience!  I felt like I
was wrestling an alligator.  And losing.  No matter what I did, I couldn't
figure out how to rearrange something underneath of me once I was already on
top of it.  And then I got a little claustrophobic, so got out and retied
the rain fly (remember - it's raining this entire time).  That let more air
in, which was much better.  I feel asleep to the sounds of the falls and the
sounds of the rain.  Doesn't get better than that.  Life was good, even if
my journal, and headlamp and ibuprofen were all sliding underneath of me in
the hammock.

so . . that was day 1.  More tomorrow.

grin'N